Suspected puppy mill found outside of Jonesboro nets 31 dogsJONESBORO (AP) — County officials are investigating after a suspected puppy mill outside Jonesboro turned up 31 dogs living in a semi-trailer. The Jonesboro Sun reported that 18 of the discovered dogs were female —most of them pregnant — and 13 males were taken to a veterinary care facility, where professionals and volunteers were assessing each dog's condition Friday. Rusty Grigsby, an investigator with the Craighead County Sheriff's Departme...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear March 30 in Pope County Circuit Court. • David Bullock, 23, sexual indecency with a child — $30,000. A girl told police that she had sex with Bullock between October and November 2013, when she was 14 years old, according to a police report. The rep...

Area man gets $100,000 bond after car chaseArkansas State Police (ASP) arrested a man who had bond set at $100,000 Friday morning for fleeing after a chase from Pope County into Yell County that reached speeds of over 100 mph. According to a report, Russellville police officers arrived at a location where Chad Thompson, 35, allegedly tried to pass a fraudulent prescription. They reportedly followed the suspect after he left Russellville on Main Street (U.S. Highway 64) to Pottsville, w...

Congress OKs 1-week bill to keep Homeland Security openWASHINGTON (AP) — Bordering on dysfunction, Congress passed a one-week bill late Friday night to avert a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, as leaders in both political parties quelled a revolt by House conservatives furious that the measure left President Barack Obama's immigration policy intact. The final vote of a long day and night was a bipartisan 357-60 in the House, a little more than an hour after the Senate cleared ...

North Little Rock hospital paying $2.7 million over claimsNORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a hospital in North Little Rock will pay $2.7 million to settle claims that it filed improper claims under the Medicare program. Under an agreement announced Friday, Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock and a sister hospital in Little Rock also agreed to annual claims reviews for the next five years. The review is known as a corporate integrity agreement. An audit referred to the U.S....

Arkansas State University bans e-cigarettes on campusJONESBORO (AP) — Arkansas State University has banned the use of e-cigarettes on its campus. The Jonesboro Sun reported the battery-operated device was banned by the university after receiving feedback from its constituency groups. The ban, which already includes cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, was announced to students Wednesday. The groups debated the issue, and the majority decision was that it would be better for the campus environment t...

Arkansas OKs measures urging balanced budget amendmentLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Similar proposals aimed at forcing a constitutional convention for a federal balanced budget amendment advanced to the Arkansas House for a vote Friday, with opponents questioning the need for such a move. The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee endorsed two proposals that supporters say would result in an amendment to rein in the federal government's spending and debt. The first proposal, approved 14-4, ...

White County water billing probe to remain in-houseSEARCY (AP) — Southeast White County Water Association will investigate utility billing issues in-house instead of hiring a certified public accounting firm to do the job. The board will not hire a CPA firm to investigate glitches with RVS Software's billing system concerning credit card payments for sewer collections, even though they voted Feb. 2 to make the hire, The Daily Citizen reported. Attorney Heartsill Ragon said that several CPAs to...

House OKs requiring releasing cellphone locationLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers voted Friday to require cellphone carriers to provide a user's location to police in emergencies, a move that critics said would infringe on civil liberties and could open the door to abuse by law enforcement. The bill approved by the House on a 70-8 vote would require communications carriers to release the information upon request to police so they could respond to a call for emergency services or in an e...

School officials: Coach fired for violating spending rulesNORTH LITTLE ROC (AP) — A football coach has publicly released a termination letter from the North Little Rock School District stating that he failed to follow district rules on how to handle nearly $140,000 in purchases. The letter to coach Brad Bolding admonishes him for the purchase of supplies and equipment made between late August 2013 and January 2014. Officials also reportedly stated Bolding misspent two state grants totaling about $9,0...

Leonard Nimoy, famous as Mr. Spock on 'Star Trek,' diesLOS ANGELES (AP) — In 1975, Leonard Nimoy published an autobiography with the defiant title, "I Am Not Spock." Two decades later, he bowed to fate with "I Am Spock," a revisionist sequel. But for Trekkies and even casual "Star Trek" viewers, Nimoy was always the coolly composed science officer with the pointed ears and an unwavering belief in logic. He played a variety of other stage and screen roles, wrote poetry and pursued photography, but ...

Tiny Missouri town mourns after gunman kills 7, then himselfKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Residents of a small southern Missouri town struggled to come to grips with the knowledge that one of their own had killed seven people in a spasm of violence that ended when the gunman shot himself to death on a rural county road. Joseph Jesse Aldridge, 36, went to four homes in the unincorporated town of Tyrone in Texas County late Thursday, killing relatives and neighbors but sparing two teenagers. He was later found...

Quiz Bowlers prep for state tournamentWhat is the collective name for the first 10 amendments? A sixth-grade Quiz Bowler would quickly recognize the Bill of Rights as the correct answer. Civics, social studies and literature are a few of the subjects the Russellville Middle School sixth-grade team has studied in preparation for its state tournament next week. The group of 10 sixth-graders placed first at the regional meet, which qualified them for the equivalent of a state tournam...

Church briefs (Feb. 27, 2015)Singing at Old Country Church tonight The Old Country Church north of Atkins will host a singing at 6 p.m. tonight. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information, call Jaime Heflin at (479) 280-0396. Gravel Hill to host Ladies Day Saturday Gravel Hill Church of Christ will host Ladies Day on Saturday. The event will begin at 10 a.m., and lunch will be provided. Betty Choate, a longtime missionary, will be the speaker. She will have a boo...

Alliance providing winter relief to refugees in the Middle EastCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance) churches and personnel are responding with urgency to the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. Winter’s bitter temperatures have increased the misery of millions displaced by the ongoing Syrian civil war and Islamic State (ISIS) combatants’ brutal march across Iraq and Syria. ISIS horrors have forced 1.4 million Iraqis to flee to a mountainous region that i...

The gift of potentialOur nation has just celebrated the legacy of a man who recognized that a person’s character is more important than the color of his skin and that all men and women have within themselves potential that could change destinies, regardless of ethnicity, social standing or heredity. What if Dr. King had first never realized his potential, or worse realized it, but because of fear never developed it? Fear of public opinion causes many people to bur...

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Pastor William Flynn / Grace Chapel Pentecostal ChurchThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Commission welcomes new airport managerThe Russellville Airport Commission welcomed Keith Frazier as the regional airport’s new manager during Wednesday’s regular meeting. Mayor Randy Horton introduced Frazier and thanked the commission for its input. Commissioners then introduced themselves to Frazier. Chairman Bob Burris explained the commission’s history, which began in 1959 with an ordinance by the Russellville City Council. Commissioners voted in 2007 to put the airport under ...

Bond makes waves in RHS swimming and academicsMost students crack under pressure. Andrea Bond thrives at the surface. Russellville High School (RHS) junior Andrea Bond accepts the challenge by diving into the deep end. The athletic and academic leader is admired by both the swimming and RHS communities. RHS swim records Bond has broken include the 200-meter freestyle, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle, which is five of the eight records kept in the girls’ divis...

Obituary: Grace BolinGrace Tripp Bolin, 80, of Hector, beloved mother and sister, passed away Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, at her home. Grace “T” was born in Hector on Aug.2, 1934, to Millus and Ora Lee Tripp, the eighth of 10 children. She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert Bolin; three brothers, Elvin “Bob” Tripp, Tom Tripp and Millus Tripp; and three sisters, Jean Tripp, Ruth Byford and Betty Witcomb. Grace T is survived by her three children and their s...

Committee reviews draft ordinanceThe committee tasked with creating an ordinance to regulate mobile food vendors in Russellville reviewed a draft ordinance City Attorney Trey Smith prepared and nailed down some details during a meeting Thursday. All present committee members — Alderman Richard Harris, Planning Commissioners Mike Wilkins, Herschell Hargus and Doug Skelton, who is also a Pope County Justice of the Peace — agreed mobile food vendors should be allowed to stay in ...